By STEVEN VIERA
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — When it comes to placing restrictions on the growing vapor shop industry, the township isn’t blowing smoke.
At a meeting on July 11, East Brunswick’s Township Council discussed the possibility of regulating vapor shops, which have been proliferating along Route 18, by enacting an ordinance to establish licensing fees for these businesses.
Vapor shops sell vaporizers, commonly known as vapes or e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale tobacco in vapor form rather than smoking it.
“There is very little regulation, from what I can see, on the products themselves and the sale of the products, and I just think that this is a business that seems to be running rampant,” said Councilman James Wendell, who proposed the possibility of an ordinance.
Township Attorney Jean Cipriani explained that New Jersey has existing laws that regulate vaping at the state level, such as a minimum legal age of 19 and restrictions on where an individual can or cannot vape, as well as pending legislation to ban the sale of flavored vapor products.
To regulate vapor shops at the municipal level, Cipriani said, the council could pass an ordinance establishing licensing fees for these shops. The fees for vapor shops would need to be reasonable and in line with licensing fees the township requires for businesses like pawn shops, massage parlors and tanning salons, officials said.
“It’s not going to be an usurious fee — I wouldn’t support that,” Wendell said. “It’s not about putting these people out of business or regulating them out of our town — it’s about having some oversight on businesses.”
Councilman Michael Spadafino supported the possible ordinance out of consideration for the health effects of inhaling nicotine and tobacco, even as a vapor, and “because of the history of [vapes] catching fire, of them exploding,” although he did acknowledge vaping has the potential to help wean individuals off cigarettes as a method to stop smoking or abusing tobacco.
Following the discussion, Council President Michael Hughes said that the Township Council would work with Cipriani to draft the ordinance and look at surrounding municipalities as well as other towns in the state that have already established regulations on vapor shops before proposing a potential licensing fee.
“I look forward to hearing what research we come back with [and] what our neighboring municipalities have done. There’s only nine towns in the state that have done something like this already, so we’re kind of trailblazing,” he said.
Members of the vapor-shop community, however, were less enthusiastic.
“I am opposed to such licensing fees,” said Russell Jurczyk, owner of Gorilla Vapes in East Brunswick, who noted that increased regulation and fees would lead to an increase in costs to the consumer and also emphasized the potential for harm reduction of vaping compared to smoking.
“If it’s going to cost more to buy their vaporizers than a traditional pack of cigarettes would be, then [consumers] are going to go back to cigarettes and killing themselves,” he said.
Contact Steven Viera at [email protected].